California Construction News staff writer
The City of San Diego has voted unanimously to build a new shelter on private property on Second Avenue, expand the number of beds at the Veterans Village site in the Midway area and redevelop the former Central Library site on E Street in East Village.
“I thank the City Council for their vote today to move forward our critically important effort to expand shelter and help people come off the streets and get connected to assistance and housing,” Mayor Todd Gloria said in a statement. “Our sustained action over the past several years is turning the tide on this crisis, and additional shelter will help ensure our progress on reducing homelessness and ending unsafe encampments continues.”
The vote came after a proposal to create a massive 1,000-bed permanent shelter campus at Kettner Boulevard and Vine Street in Middletown was rejected.
“After a year of negotiations and multiple hearings, we have come to the conclusion that the proposed homeless shelter campus at Kettner and Vine can no longer advance,” Gloria said. “While I continue to believe the proposed shelter at Kettner and Vine was the best and most cost-effective option for a permanent shelter program, I remain firm in my commitment to expand shelter.
The mayor had proposed a 30-year-lease on a 65,000-square-foot commercial building that could have housed up to 1,000 homeless individuals. The plan was opposed by nearby businesses and councillors were concerned about the cost of the lease.
The new sites are:
- 820 E Street: The former Central Library building, which is vacant. The building also has five floors, and is about 150,000 square feet. Refurbishment costs are estimated at $86.8 million
- 2nd Avenue property: A privately owned, mixed-use space with about 25,000 square feet. The address is being withheld given the potential for future negotiations and costs are undetermined.
“Getting people off the streets and out of the riverbed and canyons is not optional,” he said. “That is why we are continuing to push forward with real solutions, identifying new sites and taking the necessary action to bring more people indoors.”
